Hamilton won the sprint race in China in March but Leclerc’s third place in Saudi Arabia is Ferrari’s only podium of the season so far.
Leclerc is fifth in the drivers’ championship and Hamilton seventh, with the team fourth in the constructors’ standings – 152 points behind leaders McLaren.
Hamilton acknowledged that time was running out on Ferrari’s season but added that he saw his first season with the team as a “foundation-building year”.
“We’ve got to start adding performance to this car clearly,” Hamilton said. “We’re not at the level, I mean look at Max’s rear, it just doesn’t move. He’s doing like 6-10k faster through Turn Two than us and we can’t match that.
“Same with McLarens, so we’ve just got to keep pushing, keep applying pressure. I believe the guys can find some performance.
“This is a foundation-building year and getting to grips with everything within the team, making changes that are needed in order to help the team navigate to success long term.
“That’s stuff that I’m focused on in the background. There’s a lot of improvements we can make across the board, as well as obviously building a faster car. I have all the faith and belief we can do that.”
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